Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of…

“Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them.”

Mary Frances Berry

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Civil rights laws originally aimed to protect marginalized groups, not white men.

In simple terms: Rights laws protect minorities, not whites.

Key Takeaway

Understand the original purpose of civil rights.

Themes

civil rights history law

Mood

educational reflective

Type

historical political

When to use this quote

policy analysis
educational curricula
activism training

Key Concepts

legal studies social justice American history

Questions to Reflect On

How have civil rights evolved?
What does equality mean today?

A Different Perspective

Modern interpretations can extend protections universally.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Anti racism Anti racist Civil Right Civil rights Democrat Law Leftists Men Racism Racist Rights White man White racism

More by Mary Frances Berry

Civil Rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everybody will get through. We must create our own…

Mary Frances Berry

Analysis can tell us what is required, but it cannot make us act.

Mary Frances Berry

Tainting the Tea Party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats. There's no evidence that Tea…

Mary Frances Berry

When it comes to the cause of justice, I take no prisoners and I don't believe in compromise.

Mary Frances Berry

advocating women's rights and greater opportunity for women in the workplace and in every avenue of public life is inconsistent with an insistence on…

Mary Frances Berry

The time when you need to do something is when people are saying it can't be done.

Mary Frances Berry

Defining child care primarily as women's sphere reinforces the devaluing of women and prevents their equal access to power.

Mary Frances Berry

The adoring crowds and overwhelming Democratic support in the 2008 election was based largely on joy at jettisoning Bush and the appeal of electing…

Mary Frances Berry

We need to insist on fathers and mothers sharing the care of their offspring as well as the opportunity to enjoy the fulfillment of…

Mary Frances Berry

When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.

Mary Frances Berry

If Rosa Parks had taken a poll before she sat down in the bus in Montgomery, she'd still be standing.

Mary Frances Berry

Explore all 12 Mary Frances Berry quotes

More Anti racism quotes

I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for…

Rigoberta Menchu

By appeasing the anti-racism lobby and affirming its culture of grievance, public institutions and business leaders are not making Britain a fairer place. In…

Munira Mirza

“Echoing right-wing racist rhetoric, liberal organizations routinely smear "illegitimate," nonpacifist resistance as senseless and the work of irrational "thugs." And yet it is precisely…

Tipu's Tiger

We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up business and dirty shops. They ought to go.

Marion Barry

And so this is Xmas for black and for white, for yellow and red, let's stop all the fight.

John Lennon

We need to be clear that there is no such thing as giving up one's privilege to be 'outside' the system. ONE IS ALWAYS…

Harry Brod

I want to go up to the closest white person and say: 'You can't understand this, it's a black thing' and then slap him,…

Charles Barron

As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't…

Harper Lee

“While we recognize the deep roots white supremacy has in the consciousness of most white people, we do not believe that only a handful…

Love and Rage

The work of anti-racism can only take place inside each individual soul, where we all try to grow into better people. There is no…

Joy Reid

“All these iterations have been political interventions: as provocation, as direct action to discomfort, as challenge to what I consider nonliberatory praxis. They are…

Cindy Milstein

A few years ago, (Barack Obama) would have been getting us coffee.

William J. Clinton

Achievement has no color

Abraham Lincoln

Americans of good-will, the nice decent church people, the well-meaning liberals, the good hearted souls who themselves wouldn't lynch anyone, must begin to realize…

Langston Hughes